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Experiment investigating the voltage across a filament lamp?

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NateRiver
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13 Dec 2012, 4:26 pm

Hypothesis: As the voltage changes, the power consumption changes.

What could I do to modify my method to improve the quality of my results?

I thought:

Repeating the experiment more than 3 times.

Wider range of volts instead of 0-12 V

a different bulb to cope with the wide ranger so it doesnt explode

Compare the effects of wider range to my secondary evidence


Anything else?



Woodpecker
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13 Dec 2012, 4:58 pm

I am sure it has been done before, the best thing to do is to measure the current passing through the light bulb when the light bulb is connected to different voltages. I am sure a light bulb will not objey ohm's law.


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MDD123
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13 Dec 2012, 6:45 pm

NateRiver wrote:
Hypothesis: As the voltage changes, the power consumption changes.

What could I do to modify my method to improve the quality of my results?

I thought:

Repeating the experiment more than 3 times.

Wider range of volts instead of 0-12 V

a different bulb to cope with the wide ranger so it doesnt explode

Compare the effects of wider range to my secondary evidence


Anything else?


What are you using as a power source? I think a variable DC power source is your best option (they're costly though), and a potentiometer will help you to keep the current at a constant level when you start increasing the voltage to the lamp.

I've invested in some cheap digital multimeters, soldered 22g wire to their leads, and inserted them into a breadboard to measure current to a load and voltage across it simultaneously. Since Power = Voltage * Current, you want to make sure that the current stays constant, this will involve frequent adjustments to variable power supply and potentiometer. Good luck!